Sensory Social Playgroups
Playgroups Focusing on Relating, Communicating and individual regulation strategies
Elements of the Program
Arrival/Open choice (explore facilitator provided environment/activities, meet new friends, engage in spontaneous self-chosen preferences supported to enhance social learning opportunities and sensory diet preferences)
Goodbyes (managing separation)
Clean up (building on cognition and self-help skills, learning to be part of a community)
Snack (social communication, social reciprocity, self help skills, exploring sensory preferences)
Cooperative games (learning the value of being part of a group, having fun participating in non-competitive games, working as a team member)
Gross motor Action Free Choice (exploring self regulation-“How Does Your Engine Run?”)
Social Thinking Games (practicing pro-social behavior and social communication skills, problem solving, empathy, discovery of self expression, thinking as a community member, engaging in symbolic play with peers)
Goodbye/Closing Activity (joys of reunion and independent accomplishment, reflection time)
Description of the Program
The playgroups are geared towards children who may need some additional support with peer interactions, focusing on pro-social behavior and social communication skills. This would include things such as visual referencing, strengthening verbal expression, reading facial expressions, reading gestures, recognizing and labeling emotions in self and others, appropriate emotional expression, body awareness, problem solving, empathy, self regulation, and participation in an optimal individual sensory diet.
The focus of the group is to help the children experience the importance and joys of having friends, being part of a group, and identifying individual regulation strategies. In this nurturing atmosphere that fosters knowledge of sensory differences and individual regulation needs, children begin to learn how to be more respectful of others and grow in their ability to be flexible in their actions and decisions.
Fiona Zecca has worked in the field of special education for over twenty years. She studied Special Education at New York University and holds a Master’s degree from San Francisco State University in Early Childhood Special Education. Fiona spent nine years working for San Francisco Unified School District as an early childhood Inclusion Specialist, Special Day Class teacher and as a team member in the assessment center. She holds three California teaching credentials. For the last seven years she has been working privately for families and schools in the Bay Area.
Cassie graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Child Development and Family Studies. After working two years as a lead teacher at Cornell’s Lab Nursery School she moved to San Francisco. She is celebrating her 20th year with The Little School where she is the Program Director and Inclusion Specialist. She also works as a consultant in other local early childhood settings, and provides in-home support services as well. She studied Early Childhood Special Education at San Francisco State University. She has been trained in DIR Floortime™ by the DIR Institute.
